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No, read on, this isn’t as boring and dry as it sounds, trust me! I was at the very informative InvestSmart event at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus the other day. InvestSmart is an initiative by the official Securities Commission Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Sekuriti) which has a goal of making you an informed and confident investor.

The way they approach this is with a good dose of fun and education embedded in the aforementioned fun bits. The InvestSmart initiative aims to:

Encourage you to take control of your finances

Enable you to exercise judgement and discretion in making investment decisions

Raise awareness on the role of the SC and their agendas

…and to that end, they appointed a lot of interesting speakers to talk about investment and how to manage your finances. There was a speech by the Guest of Honour, YB Khairy Jamaluddin who came to the stage wearing a very dapper outfit, with matching pink shoelaces and socks. I don’t think I can rock pink as well as he can!

He was also there to launch the InvestSmart app which you can find on Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

There was also a panel discussion themed “Take Control of your Life and Finances: Anything and Everything is Possible” where the attendees can talk and get feedback from the speakers, who come from a diverse field with one thing in common – they’re all successful young Malaysian entrepreneurs.

I thought that would make for an interesting morning so I went bright and early at 7 am to catch the panel speakers in action. Not only was the auditorium (it was a lecture hall in Taylor’s University) packed, there was a lot of interaction between the crowd and the speakers too.

Also, the speakers came with gifts in the form of discount codes for their stores, where relevant! :)

There was also an interactive games and exhibition area where you can win:

ASUS Transformer Book T100

GoPro Hero 3

Crumpler Sling Bag

RM 1,000 PRS vouchers

You just need to get four (4) stamps from the 4 interactive games booths and drop your completed slip into the box for a lucky draw win. I decided to give it a go and did all the booths.

Interactive Games Booth #1 – Soccer

Each game booth comes with a question booth so you need to get both correct in order to get the two stamps e.g. complete the task and answer all the questions about investing correctly. The first booth aims to educate you about goals (pun intended) and has a soccer setup on one end and the Q&A on the other.

You need to complete both to get the two stamps required to participate in the contest.

Interactive Games Booth #2 – Ping Pong

This is a booth where you match the ping pong balls (which has answers to them) to the correct box. There are about 10 ping pong balls so you really need to know your stuff to get them all right, and yes, you need to sort every single one of the small bouncy balls to get a stamp.

I did everything right the first time, but then again I’m slightly older and have a couple of investments under my belt so I know all the answers already. Plus, I read the entire handbook while waiting for the program to start since I arrived 45 minutes early. ;)

Interactive Games Booth #3 – Basketball

I thought this was the most interesting booth, maybe coz I didn’t think my hand eye coordination was that great. I managed to score every single ball that I threw, despite the balls being of different sizes.

There are answers written on the basketballs and questions on the hoops. You need to search for the correct answer on the basketball and throw it into the hoops in sequence.

The game itself is about InvestSmart which I thought was great! This makes learning about investing and finances entertaining instead of just being a games booth.

Interactive Games Booth #4 – Red Light Scam Alert

This is also an interesting interactive games booth where you are asked questions about potential scams. Answer it right, and you get a green light. Get it wrong, and the red light comes on and you have to start all over again!

The red light comes with a satisfying buzz too! I heard it go off several times, which was what attracted me to the booth in the first place.

I didn’t win the prizes but everyone who completes the four (4) tasks will get a complimentary USB drive, which was great since I collect these things.

I thought the InvestSmart event was a fun and educational way to get people to be aware of their finances and learn more about investment opportunities at a young age so Taylor’s University is the perfect place to hold it. I didn’t know you could start investing in stocks at 18 years of age until that day!

Learn more about investing and finance management at InvestSmart. It has a lot of tools and tips for everyone, and you can always check for suspected scams here.

Italy. It’s the birthplace of the Mafia, Vespa and pasta. Hey, that sorta rhymes! ;)

I’m kidding, most people would think of something like Venice for example…the fabled city of romance where countless have fallen in love (though hopefully not through the canals filled with water that counts for streets over there).

The foot kicking the ball is actually a very nice place.

It’s a sophisticated city with a lot of cultural differences that you’ll only experience when you go there. It’s little things like how Northern Italy (still) thinks of Southern Italy as a bunch of uncouth people.

(Please don’t whack me, I don’t want to sleep with the fishes, a rather drunk guy in a pub told me that while I was backpacking Europe)

I’m into history and culture and during the last trip I actually met someone who fought in the war. Don’t ask me for which side, but it enlightened me that the Axis powers were Germany, Japan and Italy. I’ve always thought it was France. /history fail

It just goes to show that sometimes you have to actually experience to the country – not as a tourist, insulating yourself from the outside world by staying at multinational premium hotel chain which feels the same any country you go and not venturing out after that.

I do concede that the reception staff in Europe is quite pleasing to the eyes though. ;)

However, if you step out of your comfort zone (and that swimming pool which is also available at your country of origin) and visit the places where the locals hang out, you’ll be rewarded with a lot of interesting bits of knowledge.

Of course, I’m not asking you to actually head to the seediest and poorest sections of town (even the locals avoid that) and granted, there would be times when you would have abuse flinged at you by the misguided youth and even have to extricate yourself from potentially dangerous and escalating situations.

I have a story about that last bit actually, but it happened in London. Heh.

Well, the point is, it’s a great opportunity to travel and visit places you’ll normally not be able to…and as a cherry on top, won’t it be great if it’s all expenses paid? ;)

That’s where RHB Now comes in!

I just went to the launch and found out some really fun things about the Italia Mania game. It’s a lot of fun, having played it myself!

There was good (Italian) food, Vespas and a great big canopy at Ciao Restaurant in town. Lots of pizzas too, which I found very apt considering the nature of the app/game.

Just make any transaction online or on your cell phone/tablet with a minimum of RM 30 (your various monthly bills probably costs more than that) and you’ll see a button aptly called:

Play the game and collect as many Star Points as you possibly can!

You’ll be making a pizza – here are the rules.

It’s basically a game where you match the ingredient showing on top with the ones available in the side and drag and drop it onto the raw pizza dough. See that mushroom I’m supposed to put on top of my pizza?

It’s surprisingly fun, I was there for a long time trying to beat my own scores. Heh.

The people with the most Star Points each week and month will get rewarded with awesome prizes!

You’ll stand a chance to win weekly and monthly prizes in addition to the grand prize – which are 5 x Vespa GTS 300 scooters. Guess what the monthly prizes are?

3 x trip to Italy for 2

That’s for the players with the top three highest Star Points each month. As a bonus, the top players who have accumulated the highest Star Points throughout the campaign will win the Vespas! There’s also 5 x RM 100 cash weekly prizes. Head on to RHB Now for more details!

I suggest you go the Venice route if you bring your girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband/It’s Complicated (TM). ;)

I’ve gotta admit, I got bitten by the Draw Something bug too. However, my drawings are usually very basic. I once just drew an * for asterisk. Heh. Lainey here was helping me with one of my drawings – it’s “iceberg”.

I added a very rudimentary looking ship with the words TITANIC emblazoned on it. This could very well be the best drawing I’ve “done”.

My drawings are so bad that I get remarks about my artistic inclination on WhatsApp.

I’m a huge fan of the first Chaos Rings and have grinded on the JRPG (Japanese RPG) on my iPhone 4 for ages. Chaos Rings is an exclusive iOS title by the venerable Square Enix (makers of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts) and their prequel Chaos Rings Omega just came out with the August 2011 Japanese voice acting pack.

I bought it for USD 14.99 coz I was a little to eager to grab the game – it went down to USD 10.99 to celebrate the release of the voice pack just 2 hours later. -_-

The game play is exactly like Chaos Rings – there’s nothing different at all. Even the environment uses the same textures and most of the BGM is recycled, although we’ve got a couple of new characters this time around. I felt a strong sense of deja vu playing through it – I’ve spent countless hours on the first one leveling up my character so this just feels like more of the same.

The voice acting pack is something of a letdown too – it feels like it was rushed out, the main scenes have voice acting but some of the “less important” scenes lack voice acting, making it feel a bit unpolished. However the combat system is now fully voiced, which can be an annoyance or a treat, depending on how long you play it. ;)

Pros:
Expanded Chaos Rings story
The best JRPG on iOS devices
Voice acting comes as a free update, even for the first title
Game Center support – there are also hidden achievements for defeating the bosses

Cons:
Pixelation is very heavy even on Chaos Rings Omega HD running on the iPad 2 – perhaps coz I’ve played the previous title on the iPhone 4 with Retina Display
Voice acting is not consistent – not every scene has it, and it’s slightly buggy
The price tag is a bit high for a non-universal app, but then again, this is Square Enix we’re talking about

I would recommend Chaos Rings Omega since it’s 27% off for a week right now – but only if you don’t already have the first title or if you’re a die hard fan. It’s just more of the same – even the puzzles use the same mechanics.

I just came back from a trip to Kuantan where I got to swim in the blue seas and get some planking photos done. Heh!

You’ve all heard of the phenomenon that started in Australia and swept worldwide…unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few months, that is. It really only hit mainstream news when someone died while planking on a balcony.

I’ve seen some crazy stunts by plankers on the Planking Facebook page which started it all. What is planking? In a nutshell, all you do is lie face down with your hands by your side at the most ridiculous places. It’s just as simple as that.

I did the heated swimming pool rail at the resort (or at least tried to). This is a totally failed planking attempt since it’s really hard to balance on a wet and slippery 10 cm rail and perform a perfect plank.

The good: I was cheered on by a bunch of people vacationing there and chilling in the pool. Plus, since it is the Hyatt Grand Regency Resort, none of the staff wanted to be the one to stop a paying guest at a 5 star hotel. Heh!

The bad: I have bruises everywhere and my family jewels hurt like nobody’s business. Why? Think about it. It’s a 45 degree railing. You’re planking on a steep downward incline, trying to get the perfect form. It’s wet. When you lose your grip (what grip?), guess which part of your anatomy hits the rail before you slide into the pool or fall on the side? Yes, ouch indeed. -_-

I also did the notorious balcony planking photo there. We were at the 4th floor so it wasn’t very high up and the rail was relatively large enough to do it without an excessive chance of you falling down and ending in the ER. It’s not the perfect form but it’s close enough without being too dangerous. Also, if you look, there is a safety awning which would probably hold my weight if I fell down the wrong side of the building.

I have to say though, planking is a very idiotic meme that has swept the net for reasons unknown. It’s dangerous and it’s stupid. I suggest you do something better with your time…like playing the Funbots Dance Facebook app!

It’s also another Facebook activity so there’s that in common. Heh! It’s basically a game by Munchy’s to celebrate their 20th anniversary. They’ve been around since 1991 and this year, in the spirit of the Share the Fun campaign, four Funbots have been created – Michael Oven, DJ Mixer, ChopChop, and BeatBox. Witty!

There’s a real life parallel to this – the Funbot characters will begin their physical journey from 19th May, starting at the Munchy’s factory in Batu Pahat and ending in 1 Utama Oval Concourse where there will be a grand celebration from 1-5th June. Mark your calendars now coz fun and games await! Come and join the celebrations! :)

In the meantime, stay out of trouble and play the Funbots Dance app on Munchy’s Facebook page. It’s strangely addictive and you get to win prizes including a Macbook Pro, iPad 2 and other Apple products instead of a trip to the hospital. ;)

You can also track the progress of the Funbots journey to 1 Utama on the page. Come and beat my score now! w00t!

I have been playing a lot of Kingdom Hearts for the PS2 lately. I
know I’m slow, but I like to do things in sequence – I’ll play Kingdom
Hearts on my PS2, then Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories on my GameBoy
micro before playing Kingdom Hearts 2 on the PS2 again. I’m a big fan
of Square (now Square-Enix) RPGs and the fusion of the Final Fantasy
worlds with Disney worlds is amazingly appealing.

I’m up to Hollow Bastion now, finished the first trip to it and am
trying to beat the optional bosses. I’m working on Kurt Zisa in Agrabah
– I’m Level 59 and I nearly kicked that mecha looking boss in the
desert’s ass (Blizzara works great as well as the Ragnarok ability – if
you can hit him with it – it really drains the HP bar). I woke up at
2:30 am last night and gave it three more tries – nearly did it once,
with the help of Tinkerbell (the Summon – essential to keep you alive)
before going to sleep again.

Kurt Zisa got me thinking – it was a fan contest to have an optional
boss named after him/her and a Caucasian or Jewish sounding name would
probably be alright since it melds with the theme of the game, but what
if I won? The mecha desert boss name would be Poh Huai Bin which
wouldn’t fit into the general naming scheme and theme of the game. The
same goes for most Chinese and Japanese names so I was wondering…do
they filter out certain candidates?

Anyway, just some nonsensical “first thought of the day” thing, I’m
actually really busy these few days with work so forgive the lack of
updates. I’ll make up for it – promise. Cheers!

I purchased a PlayStation 2 slim form factor console with a Vertical Stand and 8 MB Memory Card (both PS2 official accessories sold separately). It comes with two DUALSHOCK 2 Analogue controllers and 10 “copied” (a euphemism for intellectual property theft) DVD games for RM 590 in KL.

It’s a pretty good deal. I don’t have a TV at home so I use a USB TV Tuner with a mini Component AV Cable (compatible with PS2)
to use either my notebook screen or the PC monitor at home to play the
games. It works well and the resolution is great (up to 1280 x 1024).
The USB TV Tuner comes at RM 220 and can be used with an external
antenna to watch free to air broadcast stations too.

I don’t think the PS/2 really needs a review since
it’s a pretty old console so I’ll put up some photos regarding the
setup of the system – using a USB TV Tuner with a mini Component AV
Cable to a PC monitor/notebook.

Nintendo came out with the Game Boy micro
as a revamp of the Game Boy Advance SP system with the tagline
“smaller. sleeker. brighter.”. It takes in Game Boy Advance SP
cartridges and the Game Boy micro is one small and sleek unit, which
prompted me to purchase it. I bought it bundled with a game for RM 410
– I chose Need for Speed: Most Wanted for the GBA.

The Game Boy micro retails for RM 380 (stock) and it’s marketed
towards the iPod generation with its sleek design. It’s very small –
just slightly larger than the cartridges it accepts. You’ll be hard
pressed to imagine just how small the Game Boy micro actually is until
you see it. It’s about as large as the screen on the Sony PSP. That’s
how small it is.

The packaging of the Game Boy micro is suitably
sleek (sorry for the repeated use of this word) – it looks like a
product from Apple instead of from Nintendo. The design of the Game Boy
micro returns to the horizontal screen and it looks like a controller
for a conventional console with an LCD screen built into it. It is easy
to mistake this new product for an iPod instead of a handheld.

The Game Boy micro package opens up to reveal the Game Boy micro
unit – it’s exactly the same size as depicted on the packaging. (!!!)
The handheld is protected with a mini bubble wrap covering and the Game
Boy micro is going back to basics with the D-pad (directional pad) and
the bright and high resolution LCD screen coupled with the A and B
buttons on the side.

The charger for the Game Boy micro is included with the package. The
Game Boy micro has inbuilt rechargeable batteries (non-removable) that
charges up with the included AC adapter in about two
hours to full battery status. The play time for a full charge is about
6 hours with the speakers on (which is the only bad part about the GBM
– the speakers are tinny) and about 6 1/2 hours with a self-powered
headphone.

This is the Game Boy micro unit itself (still
inside the shrink wrap). The Game Boy micro accepts a standard
headphone jack and I found gaming to be more interesting with one of my
powered vibration headphones. There are Start and Select buttons at the
bottom of the unit and two Left and Right buttons on the top. This unit
is built to look sleek (apologies for the repetition).

There is also a Game Boy micro Instruction Manual.
The manual describes the operations of the Game Boy micro and it seems
that most of the GBA accessories are incompatible with the Game Boy
micro due to the smaller form factor of the latter. However, all the
GBA (Game Boy Advance) cartridges are fully compatible with the GBA.
Nintendo has also stated that they’re coming out with a Wireless
Adapter for the GBM.

There is also a black traveling pouch included in
the Game Boy Micro box. It’s built perfectly for transporting the GBM
and has a pull-shut string on the top to seal the cotton pouch. It is
however, made of cotton and thus would not protect the GBM from shocks
and drops. However, I have dropped the Game Boy micro from waist point
to solid concrete once and it powered up without any problems. It seems
pretty solid for a design of its size. That good coz I tend to drop
things…a lot. ;)

That’s the standard accessories included in the Game Boy micro box –
the Game Boy micro unit itself, the AC Adapter for recharging the built
in lithium ion rechargeable batteries, a carrying pouch, and the
Instruction Manual which comes with an international warranty. It’s
priced at RM 380 which is affordable enough for an impulse purchase and
there’s value for money in this latest release from Nintendo.

This is the Game Boy micro handheld unit. The Game Boy micro is made
of aluminum metal and looks like brushed silver. It looks good for a
handheld – small and sleek. The LCD screen is incredibly bright with
high resolution due to its smaller dimensions from a GBA unit (which
are the games you would be playing with the Game Boy micro). The simpleD-pad with A and B buttons is perfect – back to minimalist handheld gaming.

There is also a Start and Select
button on the bottom of the Game Boy micro unit. It flashes blue for
several seconds if it’s on a full charge and goes dormant (same color
scheme occurs during the charging process – the Start and Select
buttons go blue during charging and goes dormant when it’s fully
charged). The two buttons goes red when the Game Boy micro unit is low
on battery. The Start and Select buttons should be familiar to gamers.
The On/Off toggle switch is also located at the bottom of the GBM.

The top of the Game Boy micro unit is built in with the receptacle
that accepts the AC Adapter included with the Game Boy micro unit. This
placement is crucial, as I found out, as it allows gaming even when the
unit is being recharged (and this is very important for long RPG’s like
Final Fantasy IV for the GBA – there is a problem with saving games and
you basically have to go through the game in one shot). There are also Left and Right buttons at the top. It’s all very intuitive for console and handheld gamers.

This is the back of the Game Boy micro unit. The bottom of the unit
accepts the game cartridges. The Game Boy micro is compatible with all
Game Boy Advance (GBA) and Game Boy Advance SP cartridges. That’s a
huge library of games at your disposal. However, the cartridges are
expensive though – it would be cheaper to get one of the aftermarket
GBA cartridge converters that accepts an SD Card – which you can use to
download ROM’s for the GBA online and transfer it into the SD Card for
gaming on the go (beats playing it on an emulator on the PC any day).
Please note that this is illegal if you do not own the original copy of
the GBA game though. ;)

Here is a comparison to show the actual size of the Game Boy micro –
it is pictured here with a normal King Size cigarette box (20’s). It is
only slightly longer than the cigarette box. The official dimensions
for the Game Boy micro is 4 inches by 2 inches. It’s the smallest
handheld unit on the market.

This is a picture to compare the thickness of the Game Boy micro.
It’s hardly near the bulk of the cigarette box – the Game Boy micro
measures 0.8 inches in depth. The cartridge adds minimal bulk to the
unit, which is surprising. The Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP
cartridges all fits in snugly with minimal outcrop.

I bought Need for Speed: Most Wanted for the GBA bundled with the game. The Game Boy micro does not have a library of its own – it takes in GBA and GBA-SP cartridges for games.

This is how the cartridges are slotted into the Game Boy micro. It
has an auto-interlock system for safe insertion of the cartridges and
the raised portion of the cartridges allows you to pull out the
cartridges instead of depending on a push-out button, which minimizes
mechanical failure during constant swapping of cartridges.

Here is the Game Boy micro with Need for Speed: Most Wanted for the
Game Boy Advance. The GBA cartridges all slots in with minimal outcrop,
which is great for pulling out cartridges and inserting them.

This is the Game Boy micro boot up screen – it shows the Nintendo
Game Boy micro boot up sequence (video below) and the Select and Start
buttons are red – indicating low battery status.

Here is the Need for Speed: Most Wanted splash screen on the Game
Boy micro. The LCD screen is incredibly bright and has a very high
resolution compared to the GBA (first and second editions), partly due
to the smaller LCD screen, which compresses the pixels. I was impressed
by the clarity of the screen on the Game Boy micro.

This is how Need for Speed: Most Wanted looks on the Game Boy micro.
The rendering is impressive on a handheld of the Game Boy micro
generation (GBA). I was interested in how a racing game would perform
on a Game Boy micro and it performs much better than on the original
platform (GBA) – probably due to the faster processor.

The faster processor on the Game Boy micro can also lead to problems with classic GBA games…Final Fantasy IV Advance
runs much faster than I remembered on the Game Boy micro compared to
the Game Boy Advance SP. The graphics and the sound has depth to it
though – much more than the GBA. The tests were run with a self-powered
headphone attached to the stereo jack – the sound output is dismal on a
stock Game Boy micro.

The Game Boy micro is a great handheld system for classic games
though – the return to the basic D-pad and the A and B buttons with a
higher resolution and brighter LCD screen and the sleek form factor
just cannot be beat at this price range.

I’ll give the Game Boy micro two thumbs up but one of them is on the directional pad and the other on the A button. ;)

I’m told that MMORPG players act out the deepest instincts suppressed inside the id in-game. I guess that says a lot about me.

I’ve always wanted to be a lumberjack. Just a simple axe wielding,
tree chopping, lumber felling person, just like in the old days. It has
been my dream since I was a wee little kid.

People grow up wanting to become a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer.
I’ve always known what I wanted to do when I grow up – chop trees.

Unfortunately, my dad had different plans. Chopping trees cannot
earn money, he said. Chop tree people look down on you, he said. Thus,
he sent me for an overseas education when I was 15 to quell this “tree
chopping fantasies” of mine.

…but I did not waver from my True Purpose (TM) in life. I secretly
chopped trees (and sometimes people when trees are scarce) in New
Zealand. I started out with small shrubs, and graduated to tree
branches.

Alas, I was sent back when the tree chopping shenanigans of mine came to light.

However, I was not to be stopped. I went to Australia to do my college and uni and started chopping trees again. I even bought an axe [sixthseal.com] early on in the blog.

I started my activities with earnest then. I started secretly
twisting branches off larger trees and chopping small trees in the
middle of the night. I also plucked mushrooms if I needed a quick fix.
I was soon graduating to large trees and when I came back to Malaysia
to work, I started moonlighting as a tree chopper, venturing into DBKL
protected tree plantations to chop trees. FELDA settlements are also a
frequent hangout, since I also enjoy chopping palm oil plants
occasionally.

I ventured into virgin rainforests when I came to Kuching to chop
timber trees with earnest (at night, of course). I even earned a
moniker for my actions.

They call me the Mysterious Midnight Tree Massacre.

However, one fine day, I was arrested and thrown into jail for
chopping trees. They said I needed a timber permit. My place was raided
and all my tree chopping equipment and miscellaneous lumber was
confisticated. I was filed with criminal charges of possession of
timber without a permit with a court case pending. I was let out on
bail several days later, despite the regulation two week minimum remand
time on one condition:

I was not to chop trees or speak of it anymore.

Filled with resentment, I started playing MapleStory [maplesea.com] and chopped virtual trees.

(I also chopped real trees sometimes, but don’t tell anyone)

There is no Bigfoot. I took a personal trip to Johor a couple of
weeks ago and the trees uprooted themselves in sheer terror and started
to walk, leaving those huge prints on the ground.

Lighting Reaction XTREME is the “Latest, greatest shock product” and comes with wonderfully hyperbolic taglines like Dueling for the 21st Century
and my personal favorite “red to green, get ready to scream”. Lightning
Reaction is basically a reflex based drinking game with an electric
shock delivered to the slower (or more intoxicated) players.

The Lightning Reaction XTREME contraption can accommodate up to four
(4) players with a minimum of two (2) players. It looks fairly benign
but with fresh batteries, it can deliver a rather pleasant shock. It
won’t kill you, and some of the more sado masochistic ones amongst us
just shock ourselves for fun. It seriously feels good – especially when
you hold more than one of the handles and let it shock you (it kinda
“sticks” to you while the electric shock is delivered, much like how a
real shock “grips” you).

Lightning Reaction XTREME has cords extending out to four handles
with a grip and a red “trigger” on each one. There are two variations
of the game – Lightning Reaction and Lightning Reaction XTREME.
The huge button in the middle is depressed to start the game and it
starts flashing red for a random number of seconds before turning
green. The fastest person to press the trigger on their respective
handles wins in Lightning Reaction XTREME and all the others gets a
shock (and has to drink) while only the slowest player to react gets
shocked and has to drink in Lightning Reaction Regular Mode.

There’s no way to cheat coz pressing the trigger prematurely (before
the flashing red light with accompanying sound effects turns green) is
a foul and that person gets shocked and has to drink.